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The programme for this concert was full of surprises, starting with all three movements of L. van Beethoven's sonata for piano and cello in A major, Op.69.

Throughout the concert there was a sense of connection between the players with constant communication. As motifs were passed to one another in the music, the players reacted to the passing by looking at each other. This gave the impression of a conversation between the Cello and Piano. Just like in a conversation, neither player was leading the other which gave the balance required to perform this piece.

In the first movement, the rising and falling motifs felt like waves on a shore. The scene was certainly set in this movement with a lot of call and answer involved. The room immediately filled with long cello passages accompanied by short staccato piano rhythms.

The second movement brought the idea of a conversation into action, but also about silence. The piano opens with a fragmented idea which was developed from the first movement. The piece gets gradually louder throughout, with the common occurrence of the theme we hear at the start of this movement. The piece was brought to life with the communication between the players.

The third movement begins with a relaxing floating cello line gently balanced with chords on the piano. Silence between phrases were like a reflection of the past and the travelling we have just been through in movements one and two. A sudden burst into huge piano chromatic rising and falling patterns brightened the room. Exhilarating, high energy and full of motion this movement was very impactful to me.

The second piece was J. Brahms: Sonata for piano and cello in e minor, Op.38, opening with the allegro non troppo. A luxurious cello passage joined moments later by the piano which filled the room with energy, of which I could see some audience members smiling. What was instantly noticeable was the unbreakable bond between the pianist and the cello player. Lots of the piece was together, where I found the balance in volume from the cello and piano was perfect.

Towards the end of the piece you could sense the stress in the music in the fragmented rising patterns in the cello. The increase in dynamics and tempo in the final bars from both players was immense. The audience's applause was well deserved with each member, a huge smile on their faces as if they'd just been told the greatest news ever. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, especially the pianist's constant smile on their face and the communication was uniquely special to the performers.

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Pavel Ralev has travelled the world, from tours like Australia in 2022 and benefit Ukraine concerts in Tasmania to music festivals in the UK. Performing pieces from composers around the world to works of his own, Pavel has explored many different genres.

Pavel has worked in many places like Royal College and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, let alone the very place he performed for us today in the University of Surrey.

He started off with a piece by H. Villa-Lobos, playing No.3 and No.5 of the 5 preludes. This piece was the perfect opener, using loads of different guitar techniques to show off the immense skill Pavel has on guitar.

Next, he played John Dowland's "Awake, sweet love, thou art return'd" a piece originally for lute and vocals but adapted for guitar only. The delicate vocal passages could be heard prominently throughout. Pavel played this piece with delicacy with precision, whilst maintaining a strong pulse and movement forward.

Later, still with a strongly impressed audience from the first piece, Pavel played Bach's "partita for Violin No.2, Ciaccona". Originally for violin, again Pavel expresses emotion through the rising and falling passages. Cleverly, Pavel seemed to call and answer with just himself which left me wondering, how? He managed to imitate the tricking violin bowing techniques on his guitar which was expressed at the end of the piece with the biggest applause of the performance.

Pavel ended with some Steve Reich and one of his own pieces called "Wave 1". The Steve Reich pieces felt like they were built for guitar with counterpoint being the main focus. Again amazing us with a call and answer with himself previously mentioned. Finally ending on his own piece "Wave 1" which was absolutely outstanding! Quick chromatic passages launching skyward into a burst of imagination and freedom, the perfect concert closer.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concert Pavel put on and rightly so got the audience appreciation with yet another huge applause filling the space deservingly.

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Repertoire

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade

Mozart's Don Giovanni

Fauré's Requiem

Trumpets

In my opinion, the music for this semester was more relaxed for the trumpet section than previous semesters. The Scheherazade was the most challenging, with the added transposition we had to do for parts A, Bb and D. For the Mozart, the music was simple but the style, tempo and rhythms had to be exact with the orchestra otherwise the piece would drag or speed up.

What did I learn?

I developed my transposing skills as i've not previously transposed from D into Bb before. I further worked on my listening in the Mozart to be exactly on time with the orchestra. I also helped my confidence grow by attending the concert.

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Repertoire

I've Got You Under My Skin

Soul Bossa Nova

Green Onions

Street Life

In the Stone

Moonlight Serenade

Cold Duck Time

Peg

Welcome to the Jungle

Stray Cat strut

Estate

Caravan

Vehicle

Earth Wind and Fire

Blues Brothers Revue

One of the biggest concerts I have ever seen in the time I've had at Surrey. Around 40 people performed to a packed audience, where 3 or 4 rows of extra chairs were needed! Truly one of the most memorable nights of performing I've ever had.

What did I learn?

Stamina was a huge part of playing in this concert. The pieces are all super high and loud requiring huge breaths and stamina. I learned that it's okay to take breaks when doubling parts, especially before a solo part. I also learned that jazz is more relaxed and less of a problem when I made a 'mistake'.

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Repertoire

Malvern Suite

Georgia On My Mind

Leading

I haven't lead a brass band before, as being first trumpet it was my role to count the band in to the pieces. This was pretty scary infront of people, but an important thing to do.

Solo

In Georgia On My Mind I had a solo through most of the piece. This was terrifying but I got over the fear and gave it a good go. With the band following my tempo it was important not to veer too far from the original tempo I set to not throw anyone off.

Overall, I've enjoyed Brass Band a lot this semester and has yet again challenged my trumpet playing to a new level.

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Repertoire

Holst - Suite in F

Van McCoy - The Hussle

Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings

John Powell - How to Train Your Dragon

Whilst only a small number of us in the rehearsals, members of Jazzo and Brass Band joined forces for the ensembles concert in which the pieces sounded more full in areas where I didn't know possible.

What did I learn?

To organise the music before hand in the right order as it would save time when performing with nerves. I learnt to inform and lead the section when players sight reading for a concert don't know what to do in each piece, like subtle changes and cuts made in rehearsals.

Overall another enjoyable experience to play with performers outside the university as most members in rehearsals are from other courses.

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Repitoire

Rock by Jock McKenzie

Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani (1638 - 1693): Sonata Prima

I am currently working on my Grade 8 and hope to get it over the Summer/Autumn of my final year. Rock is one of my Grade 8 pieces.

Sarah has taught me breathing exercises to help with playing for longer and with louder volume. This will help with my confidence in playing too. Learning about how to enter a performance exam has been extremely helpful too. Towards the end of my lessons, we went through how to act from start to finish which boosted my confidence and got rid of any fears in that area.

Some difficulties I have had was with deciding the pieces for which to play in my performance. Changing them each lesson and last minute changes has caused me a bit of stress, so I have definitely learned to be firm with choices once I decide.

Rock was tricky as it was initially going to be a solo piece with no accompaniment but Sarah found a video of the piece being played with drum backing track so I decided to source a drummer for a test. The test went well and before long I had a drummer to play backing. This is the first time I have organised the accompanist, usually just Margaret, so I learnt a lot about being punctual and concise with what I want to avoid confusion.

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Setting up

Upon arrival to Studio 1, there was a lot to set up. I arrived early in anticipation for this and organised for the drummer to help set up during the mic set up. This allowed for the drum mics to be set up during the first tech run.

Prior knowledge of an offer holder day meant I could readily prepare for a packed audience. The assistant (Seth) and I added another row to the audience seating to increase the capacity.

Problems Encountered

First tech run, the person was late which caused timing issues for the whole time. This was partly solved by asking everyone to rehearse in a practice room and come on just for the mic check.

During the concert

The concert ran smoothly and on time, not much movement was required as everything stayed on stage. This allowed for a quick transition from performance to performance.

Packing away

Super easy and quick with several helpers, although was just me from the concert management team.

Reflections and Outcomes

Overall, I feel the performance went well and made it look as if nothing went wrong to the audience. If performers were punctual to the timings given, no delay would have been encountered. I also feel I should have been more strict in asking performers to move on to the next person and told the other concert managers more clear instructions to be present at all times.